FairWinds Finds Brands Lagging Behind on Pinterest Marketing

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinterest, the social image bookmarking site that lets users "pin" their favorite images from around the Web, has been experiencing a meteoric rise in popularity among Internet users: the site recently topped 4 million visitors per day. Many brands are beginning to take notice and are starting to explore the site's marketing potential. FairWinds Partners, the leading digital names strategy advisory firm, recently examined which major fashion brands have reserved their brand names as Pinterest usernames – the first step in creating a Pinterest marketing strategy.

Of 285 major fashion brands, which include apparel and footwear brands, plus retail brands that sell apparel and footwear, only 75 (or about 26 percent) have registered their brand names as Pinterest usernames. Only 40 of these 285 names are still available for registration, and nearly 60 percent of these 285 brand names have been registered by third parties with no relation to the brands in question.

What does a squatted Pinterest page look like? For an example, see the "Prada" Pinterest page at Pinterest.com/Prada. The user's "My Style" pinboard displays dozens of pins picturing clothing, shoes and accessories – including products from Prada's competitors like Kate Spade, Ferragamo, Kurt Geiger and Elie Saab. These pins have the potential to create confusion among Internet users and ultimately dilute the Prada brand.

In order to compare these figures across a wider array of industries, FairWinds also looked at the top 100 brands according to Interbrand's 2011 list of Best Global Brands. The trend demonstrated by fashion brands held true: only 28 of the Interbrand top100 brands have registered their brand names as Pinterest usernames, while 68 brand names have been registered by unrelated third parties.

"As Pinterest grows more and more popular, it will become harder for brand owners to secure the best usernames on which to build their marketing strategies. Whether it is on Pinterest or any other social media site, registering usernames that correspond to their brands enables brand owners to reach the widest array of consumers while protecting their valuable brands from infringement," stated Josh Bourne, FairWinds' Managing Partner. "Since registering usernames on social media sites is nearly always free, brands should proactively register as many usernames as necessary across new and emerging platforms. You never know which is going to become the next big thing."

For more information about how FairWinds can help your brand's social media username strategy, or to learn how we can help reclaim your brand's Pinterest username, please email us at info@fairwindspartners.com today.